Montevideo, Nov 17 (efe-epa).- Music took center stage at an Ibero-American event here Friday that is part of a program to promote unity in the region while also celebrating its diversity.

The event is the first activity of the "Differently Equal" campaign, sponsored by the Ibero-American General Secretariat (SEGIB) and launched last month to highlight cooperation efforts involving its 22 member nations in the areas of culture, knowledge and social cohesion.

Hundreds of children from different Uruguayan public schools participated in the activity in Montevideo, where they attended a concert by the National Youth Orchestra of Uruguay.

In remarks to EFE, SEGIB Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan stressed the importance of youth participation in the initiative, which is primarily focused on young people and highlights Ibero-American efforts benefiting them in different areas such as cinema and theater.

"I believe the strength of the Ibero-American space is that we're united in diversity," she said. "We're diverse, plural; we're different in some aspects, yet equal at the same time."

With these kinds of initiatives, young people "feel united in their humanity" and are able to focus on what brings them together rather than what differentiates them.

"We're the product of many influences. None of us is just one thing, we're all several things at the same time," Grynspan said.

Cooperation efforts that link member countries and were agreed upon at Ibero-American Summits of Heads of State and Government encompasses numerous areas from cinema, music and handicrafts to scholarships and research, as well as the exchange of knowledge and capabilities.